The 17 people who were shot and killed by an ex-student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. a year ago not only prompted the usual calls from Democrats for stricter gun controls, but it also raised the discussion level over safety issues at school districts from coast to coast.

Tamaqua was one of the local districts that engaged in some strong debate (and lawsuit action) over the issue of arming teachers.

Several Pa. school districts liked the idea of having teachers as protectors, but not with firearms. The Blue Mountain School District training including a training program called “ALICE” which stands for alert, lock down, inform, counter and evacuate. If an intruder makes his way into the classroom, rock throwing - buckets are in the closet - is one of the options.

In the Millcreek Township School District outside Erie, the superintendent gave teachers symbolic 16-inch bats as a reminder to fight a school shooter with any weapon available should other options fail. The small bats made staff persons feel more proactive in their response rather than simply “hiding and waiting” if there is an active shooter.

On the federal level, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos stated she had “no intention of taking any action regarding the use of federal funds to arm teachers or provide them with firearms training.

After the shooting in Parkland, Florida adopted the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act which requires every public school in the state to have armed security “guardians” on campus.

Many school resource officers assigned to campuses by local law agencies are armed with rifles, but they do not carry them. Instead, they are kept secured in racks built into their vehicles.

But last week, Superintendent Bill Jones of Manatee School for the Arts in Palmetto, a charter school located on the central Gulf Coast of Florida, raised school safety to a new level.

The school’s military trained guardians have semi-automatic rifles.

Jones explained that a protector armed with a handgun would not be able to neutralize an intruder from a distance, such as across a cafeteria. He issued a blunt warning to would-be gunmen looking for a soft target.

“If someone walks onto this campus, they’re going to be shot and killed,” Jones said. “We’re not going to talk with them. We’re not going to negotiate. We are going to put them down, as quickly as possible.”

Manatee also raised its perimeter fencing from six feet tall to eight feet and now employs more than 450 surveillance cameras. It is also building a guard house and additional gates to restrict campus access.

Its most aggressive action, however, is the hiring two military veterans with combat experience to be guardians. The first hire, a 15-year U.S. Army veteran who served three tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, already patrols the campus. The second guardian is currently undergoing required training by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler said the charter school did its research and included law enforcement in every step of the decision making process.

Manatee’s guardians wear a higher level of body armor, much like what the military uses in combat. The ammunition - a shell designed for hunting - was selected to avoid over-penetration. It will penetrate the basic body armor of an intruder but it won’t go through the intruder. This reduces the risk to students and staff.

As for arming staff, Jones said he is not comfortable with the idea of arming all teachers.

He stated that he is comfortable with arming teachers who are military veterans but is a bit hesitant to “have an awful lot of people just walking around with a concealed weapon.”

When it comes to protecting students and school personnel, Manatee is leaving that up to military-trained professionals who any intruder would be wise not to test.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com